The Hindu Business Line : `Tap waterways for freight movement'

INLAND waterways in the country need to be developed on the lines of highways under the National Highway Development Programme in order to facilitate better cargo movement, Mr K.N. Satheesh, Managing Director, Kerala Shipping and Inland Navigation Corporation, has suggested.

Even though the Expenditure Reforms Commission had asked the Centre to accord highest priority to the inland water transport sector like that of NHDP, he pointed out that this sector remained neglected due to inadequate width and depth and lack of infrastructure such as cargo handling terminals, navigational aids and IWT fleet.

The KSINC MD pointed out that that India today carries less than one per cent of the total freight through waterways, compared to 14 per cent in the US, 46 per cent in the Netherlands and 9 per cent in China. Realising the importance of water transport, he said, most of the developed countries had shifted a major portion of their transporting needs to water.

However, the potential of these waterways, which is supposed to accelerate the process of development, has not been tapped in India so far. The ERC report had also empowered the Inland Waterways Authority of India by broadening its brief to take all investment decisions relating to an approved waterway in order to make it navigable, Mr Satheesh said, adding that the movement of cargo through coastal shipping would considerably reduce the stress on the road and rail network in the country.

IWT is a mode of transport that is economical in non-renewable energy terms. One horsepower moves 150 kg by road, 500 kg by rail and 4,000 kg by waterways. Consequently, the amount of energy consumed per tonne kilometre of freight transported by waterway comes to merely 1/6th of the amount consumed by road and half of the amount consumed by rail.

Instead of linking the existing inland waterways, it would be beneficial if they were interlinked to the coastal routes through the existing ports. By linking coastal waterways, ships can be taken directly to the destinations, enabling the operator to avoid double handing, he added.

Referring to the waterways in Kerala, Mr Satheesh said that the inland waterway system is 1,895 km long comprising navigable rivers and coastal and cross canals. The development works in the 205 km National Waterways III, between Kottappuram and Kollam, are now progressing and expected to be completed by the end of this year.

Identifying potential water bodies and developing it into beautiful water sports centres will certainly improve the condition of waterways and its optimal utilisation. For this, he said, private as well as public investments are necessary. Moreover, public awareness programmes in this direction can attract more entrepreneurs into this field, he added.